If you’ve never heard of the Russian Republic of Kalmykia, you probably would be surprised to know that it is a small Mongol (Kalmyk) outpost on the steppes of the north Caucasus, a region better known for its firefights further south in Chechnya and Georgia. Kalmykia is also the only state in Europe whose predominant religion is Buddhism.

It is regions like this that the nascent mission movement in Mongolia is seeking to reach with the good news of Jesus. And one of the purposes of me being in Mongolia is no less than to cast vision among churches here for such enterprises as this.

Click the ‘play’ button above to enjoy the Kalmykia National Anthem. (Please bear with the poor English at the beginning, and wait for the download to complete before playing. It’s worth the wait!) A piece with a very Soviet flavour, it still made me think, ‘Why can’t we (the UK) produce anything like as good?’ As for the pictures themselves - these are the kinds of scenes we have here in Mongolia - but they belong to none other than this small Mongol outpost - in Eastern Europe!

Be inspired as you watch, to pray for a mission movement far to the east that is seeking to embrace such people as these...